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Chris Koger

#MealKitFail? Vericool has an answer

As demand for meal kits grows, a sustainable packaging company is positioning its boxes as a solution to meal kit fails — including past their prime perishables that raise food safety questions.

Vericool Packaging, Livermore, Calif, says its Vericoolers can solve freshness problems faced by meal kit providers. Vericool’s #MealKitFail campaign encourages consumers who’ve had problems with the quality/freshness of ingredients in kits they’ve ordered to share it on all social media accounts

“There’s a lot of confusion about meal kit safety and sustainability — and we’re starting #MealKitFail to help,” Vericool CEO Darrell Jobe said in a news release.

Vericool cites a Rutgers University/Tennessee State University study in which researchers ordered 169 meal kits and interviewed more than 1,000 consumers. Many packages left outside when consumers are at work, and researchers found that items needing refrigeration in almost half of the kits had surface temperatures above 40 degrees when they arrived — falling into the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “danger zone,” according to the release.

Vericool has consumer tips on minimizing food safety risks with meal kits. The company is also asking consumers to consider the sustainability of meal kit packaging, and seek recyclable and compostable packaging.